In the field of telepoint communications, i.e. cordless public telephone communications, handsets are provided which have a user programmable memory, such as for programming frequently used telephone numbers, and a user non-programmable memory, i.e. an r.f. programmable memory, which can only be programmed over the r.f. interface from a base station.
In a telepoint system, a large number of base stations are provided, distributed across wide area, e.g. across the whole of the United Kingdom. It is necessary periodically to communicate with each base station to down-load to a central controller information regarding activity at that base station, such as billing information. It has been proposed that terminal management computers are provided at regional points to provide a regional centre for down-loading of information from base stations in a region, and for the terminal management computers to in turn down-load their information to a central billing processor. Such an arrangement has the advantage of reducing telephone charges from the public switched telephone network, because it reduces the number of long distance calls required to complete a down-loading cycle.